Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: matt on August 29, 2007, 04:16:03 pm
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as a window cleaner
crap day, ive had enough of them
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cant you just take a few days off to calm down and relax then get back to work and se ehow it goes in a week or two?
surely this is a better option than to just quit now - or atleast find a good job before giving up - so you have an income.
good luck with your decision.
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Mate I've had this myself. I'm just coming up to the end of my first year as a sole trader after years of working for a company and all I can say is don't jack it in mate. I had a couple of weeks about a month ago when it was raining and in one week I picked up £11 and was about to phone my old boss up. But honestly don't pack in because sometimes it can only take one phone call and your grinning from ear to ear.
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Matt, what's going so wrong that you're thinking of jacking it in?
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Think man. Think.
If you leave you will work 40hours for the same or less money. Have a boss, people you don't like, redundancies, making up excuses to have an afternoon/day off.
At the moment you work less, earn more, and have the occasional bad day. Think about the run of great days you have. You don't get them at a 'proper job' and you will get alot more bad days. And the return of the 'monday morning feeling'.
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Matt once your a window cleaner your always a window cleaner.
I got away from window cleaning once for a proper job but soon came back.
If i didn't have a 3 year break i would have been cleaning windows for 20 years sad aint it but what other job can you work when you want earn a lot more than a lot of other jobs.
And when you want more money you give yourself a pay rise.
I always think on crap days ive had enough but then you get some good days and it's all worth it again.
Anyway what happened to make you think this way.
Paul
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i jacked sales in... and working for other people.. for years ,hated it.... i love this ..." proper job" i have now... good days and bad days.... because they are all....... "my days".... with no one on my case giving me targets to meet, or looking at the clock, as i walk in, or asking if i can work overtime when england are playing footie.!......
sit back , take stock matt.
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Come on Matt.........what's buggin ya mate???? You've been there for hundreds of ya fellow comrades.........let us be there for you ;) Come on. Spill the beans.........Whatever grief someone's given ya, f$*@ 'em. That's the beauty of this job. 9 times out of ten,if push comes to shove,you can stick two......no "one" finger up to the tw*ts that get to us sometimes.
Dino :)
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Who or whar are "Them" Matt?
Bad days or bad customers?
In my early days as a window cleaner I took things personally and let it get to me then I decided enough was enough. I toughened up and realised that I had to treat the job as a business.
Businesses have ups and downs. Problem days, problem customers and the rest of it but as a business I find I dont take things so personally any more. I always have the bigger picture in mind and as long as I am moving the right way the day to day problems seem smaller.
I really hope you dont pack it in because as others say there arent any other businesses I can think of that are so stress free.
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Matt something someone has done or said must have really bothered you to go to the trouble of posting it on here,can you give a few more details.
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i had a bad day today.
I lost a £2500 customer (bi-monthly clean).
But i know its not the end od the world, its better than working for someone else getting paid a % of what i earn now.
We all have bad patches
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Matt:
si t down and write out a list of all the pro's and con's of being a window cleaner then visit the job centre and get back to reality of what people earn and how hard they have to work for it and how 5hit they're treated!
We all have bad days or bad customers from time to time. Do something positive with what's annoying you and move on to better times. Take a week off if you're really stressed out as time away will sort your head out. Hope you stay window cleaning!
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and remember why you became a w/c in the first place... think back mate.
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theres got to be a reason which you aint explained , would be better if we no why.
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Hey Matt, What's up mate? Don't let the barstewards grind you down.
Of course if you've won the lottery, I wouldn't blame you. It would take that, or the doctor to tell me I only had a month to live for me to pack my hand in.
Have a beer or three, take the rest of the week off, and sort it out for Monday.
The forum wouldn't be the same without you mate. Dai
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Matt, My tuppence worth. I had a crap day on Monday mainly because i suffer from depression. I had a great day today. I try to take the view that "sh*t happens". Good luck, mate.
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right here goes :)
monday -- day off, had a nice day
tuesday -- go off to clean on a new estate near me ( my MP3 broke, not a problem, 10 quid online, but no music allways puts me in a bad mood ) , goes well in the morning, then i get some idiot complain because im 2 weeks late, i know im 2 weeks late, i didnt work much in july ( because of the rain ) i explain this, she says " im not interested in excuses " fair enough, i then say next time i will pop and do them in the rain, she says " i dont want them done in the rain ", i just carry on with the clean and get paid
next house, i picked up last time, it hasnt been done for 3 years, its a MOD house, i expained last time i come around 6 weeks ( depending on the weather ) she was happy with that, i knock on the door to get paid, i clean the tops TWICE on first cleans, they were filthy, she pays me, and then says " i dont want them done next time, i will have them done the week B4 Christmas " i explain i dont mind every other clean, but thats it, she says " knock on the door before you do them, if im in i will either say Yes or No :( this really pee'd me off as we had agree'd every 6 weeks
Today -- i clean a few houses, i get to a house that owes me 2 cleans , they say " oh i didnt realise you had done them " i explain they would have had a ticket each time AND then on thursday i ticket to say i had missed them for collection " ( i dont normally collect, except this local estate, i sometimes walk my dog around whilsst collecting ), they then say " well we dont really care if they are clean or not , its not important " ( i will return to this point in a bit )
i then do a few more houses, get to this house and clean the first window upstairs, clean the cill with what look like a pile of bird mess, i clean the next window and get a really bad smearing effect, i bring my brush down and it turns out to be something that the lads of the house had squirted out of the window, i thought it was hair gel ( not a issue its water based ) it turns out to be some kind of grease :( i try and clean the brush on the wall, try it on a dowstairs window, it drys with loads of greasy/ oily spots, i get the ladder off my car and try and clean them, no joy, they look crap ( i only put them on to fix a Downpipe for some1 ) i go home and clean the brush with fairy and hot water, seems ok, return to the house, stil drys all oily :( i would have called it a day now BUT i had asked 3 to unlock side gates, so i wanted to get them done, i return home, take off old brush and fit all the fittings to a new brush i had, off i go again, i left the house it happened on as i couldnt see how i would fix the problem, i hope 6 weeks of sun / weather will help and i had spent 2 and 1/2 hours messing around on that house, off i go to the next house, i do a few more and the wife of the house comes home , i explain to her what happened, my husband will be home in a bit speak to him, i speak to his and he says " its that little poo of a boy" and he laughs and says " been a bad day for you then " i explain, yes to the tune of 2 and 1/2 hours wasted and brush ( worth 20 quid ) wasted " the guy just laughed
i pack up my kit and decide to phone around a few of my contacts in the building game
now, sure 1 bad day ( today ) and 1 allmost bad day ( yesterday ) isnt the end of the world
in a few weeks my daughter starts school full time, now i can work 5 days a week then, so ive been thinking on this, i have enugh work to work 4 days a week now ( i currently only do 3 days, then look after my daughter ) BUT i know i have enough for 4 days work, that i thought would do me, 1 day for rain or a day off, then in the school holidays i could drop back to 3 days
ive been thinking for a while now, do customers really care about the clean windows, as im getting more and more of a impression they dont really care, as long as they are clean-ish, they are happy, now i have allways done jobs the best i can, if it takes a extra few mins, then so be it, but im really struggling with the feeling that they just dont care
Another thing on my mind, the lack of job satisfaction, when i have done carpentery / building work, i can stand back and think, that looks a great job, the customer allways says " that looks great etc etc ) now i dont get this with windows, people pay and thats it, as above, do they even notice ?? ??
another thing, lack of challenge, now as people will know, ive been doing this for 4 and 1/2 years now ( so only a beginner ;)) the first challenge was to be able to use the sqeegee right, i picked up that, then i moved to WFP and that was a challenge, now i have nothing left to test me, i know i can use both methods to do a good job, so i have nothing left to challenge me in anyway
i have a nice round, very compact, enough work for 4 days a week with a 6 week turnaround, so why am i not happy ?? ??
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oh and cheers for the kind words folks, mucho thanks
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matt down let it get you down mate . all my custom love me if im late or in the rain . i can see the point about the music on your mp3 though . get on with it mate bit of bad luck for you at the moment but it will change for the better stick with it . ;)
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Matt - As a total beginner to this business, I have read your posts over the last few months and always enjoy them. I hope you don't decide to give up, but only you can make the decision.
Ian
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I used to feel the same way about the job satisfaction issue theirs no getting away from it that their is no end product so to speak apart from a pile of money so what i did is started something else a hobby with goals that seemed so far away but i recently completed my goal in this hobby after three years so now i have added another task with a goal that seems as far away as the first
It takes your mind away from the mundane w/cing and focuses the mind elsewhere
Well it works for me anyway
Dean
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Wow, no wonder it took ya so long to get back to us. I thought it was an Ian Giles post, so i had to go back and check ;D
Don't shoot me down in flames people, but i get the impression Matt, that this work that's brought ya down is on a housing estate....am i right??? The kind where some of kids are a royal pain in the arse and money comes before principals. I had loads of work on a housing estate my way and i also got p1ssed off with people ignoring me when collecting. Can i pay you next month? Oh the wife/husband has got all the money. Every excuse under the sun to postpone paying up. Had about 3 years of that then i just woke up and smelt the coffee one day. Wrote off most of what was owing to me and slept better for it. Moved on to posher places where people DID care if the windows were cleaned(regularly) and rarely get shafted at all now.
Now before 1 or 2 of you are thinking i'm a snob, i aint. I lived on a housing estate until about 2 years ago and i made loads of friends, many whom i still see often. I still do 4 houses next to each other on it,but they're old people who are sound as a pound, but i'd never go back to trying to find decent/significant work there because i just don't think it's possible.
Putting flack jacket on now :o
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That's what Bank Holidays do for you, nobody enjoys work after having a few days off, it's always a case of...
"There must be better ways to earn money than this?"
When you're in that sort of mood even the smallest slight on your character or performance gets magnified 10 times.
Just let it ride over you, these customers come and go, don't let them get to you.
If you are after a challenge then look for one, stay in the cleaning arena and diversify into something different, invest in a quality pressure washer and start cleaning patios and decking when it's wet.
If you have enough work then get someone to work with you, times goes by quicker and problems are halved if there are two of you working.
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As for job satisfaction Matt, i know where you're coming from. We aint ambulancemen or Doctors or corrupt MP's ;D But i get my satisfaction from being there for my family(too bl00dy much sometimes) ;D and knowing that they got food in their bellies and a kick around in the park when alot of other dad's are just boarding the 4.15 from Paddington 8)
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we work for ourselves...just drop the baddies and replace with goodies...anyone who stresses you just drop work to live not live to work :) :) :)
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One thing i have learnt about this job is-it can either be as stressful or as stress free as you want it to be. That is,until something goes t*ts up with the pole,the RO,the hose,the van,the pump,the varistream,the connectors...........Ok Matt,point taken.........window cleaning sucks ;D
Chin up fella,it'll soon be winter.
DOH
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Matt:
Lose your crap/awkward customers and replace them with better ones.
I have 2 trades to fall back on and I know what you mean about job satisfaction in a trade.
I look at this window cleaning job simply as a business to earn me money with the flexibility of working time and time off.
Try not to get so personal (stressed out, worked up) about the job and think of it as tool that enables you to earn the money and allow you the time off to do what you want to do.
If you work for someone else you lose your independence and flexibility.
Good luck whatever you decide.
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Wow, no wonder it took ya so long to get back to us. I thought it was an Ian Giles post, so i had to go back and check ;D
Don't shoot me down in flames people, but i get the impression Matt, that this work that's brought ya down is on a housing estate....am i right??? The kind where some of kids are a royal pain in the arse and money comes before principals. I had loads of work on a housing estate my way and i also got p1ssed off with people ignoring me when collecting. Can i pay you next month? Oh the wife/husband has got all the money. Every excuse under the sun to postpone paying up. Had about 3 years of that then i just woke up and smelt the coffee one day. Wrote off most of what was owing to me and slept better for it. Moved on to posher places where people DID care if the windows were cleaned(regularly) and rarely get shafted at all now.
Now before 1 or 2 of you are thinking i'm a snob, i aint. I lived on a housing estate until about 2 years ago and i made loads of friends, many whom i still see often. I still do 4 houses next to each other on it,but they're old people who are sound as a pound, but i'd never go back to trying to find decent/significant work there because i just don't think it's possible.
Putting flack jacket on now :o
Dino, when i say "Housing estate" its not a low class area, its a new build estate with 3 - 5 bed houses, the area i was working were all 4 bed's and worth 250 K plus, we are not taking about council / housing association estates :)
cheers for the words though
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Maybe that's the problem matt. How can they pay a mortgage, pay the HP on the 4x4,the holiday and sky and be expected to pay you too ;D
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If you have enough work then get someone to work with you, times goes by quicker and problems are halved if there are two of you working.
this is something else, ive allways worked with some1 else as a carpenter, even if its a apprentice, allways enjoyed having some1 to work with, BUT i have allways been able to trust the work of some1 else, now working for myself im not sure i would handle it well, as i know any mistake from some1 else would look bad on me
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i think i need to have 2 day a week hobby / job to go with my WC'ing
Ive been offered work tonight, 18 months of work fitting kitchens in " council " houses, its something ive done B4 and it got boring after 2 years, as council house tennats dont really care either, it would wind me up to return to them in a few weeks and see them mistreated and falling apart due to neglect
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Matt LOL,you sound like Squeakys twin brother,get a grip man! ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
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You don't come across as someone who gives less that 100% when shining Matt, so if you should screw up now and then you've gotta take it easier on yourself. To err is human. I'm always getting calls saying that windows aint been been cleaned,or not cleaned properly. 9 times out of 10 it's on the insides, or in between the glass ;D
If ya can't beat them mate, then go as barmy as they are........works for me ;)
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i think i need to have 2 day a week hobby / job to go with my WC'ing
Ive been offered work tonight, 18 months of work fitting kitchens in " council " houses, its something ive done B4 and it got boring after 2 years, as council house tennats dont really care either, it would wind me up to return to them in a few weeks and see them mistreated and falling apart due to neglect
sound like youve turned the corner your last post sounded more positive
im sure once you find something too replace the two days you spend with your
daughter now shes going to school with something constructive that you can take pride in things will look in a more positive light.
p.s. had a s***e day myself today so can sympathise
gary >:( ;D
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Matt once your a window cleaner your always a window cleaner.
I got away from window cleaning once for a proper job but soon came back.
If i didn't have a 3 year break i would have been cleaning windows for 20 years sad aint it but what other job can you work when you want earn a lot more than a lot of other jobs.
And when you want more money you give yourself a pay rise.
I always think on crap days ive had enough but then you get some good days and it's all worth it again.
Anyway what happened to make you think this way.
Paul
I'm sure that even if I did have a "normal" job, I would still service some of the better parts of my round as an extra job.
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Matt, everyone has bad days mate, but do you really want to go back to someone else telling you what to do? You've got complete flexability and why throw away all the time and effort it's took to build up your business. Take a deep breath see out the rest of the week. Friday pack a bag and go away somewhere nice for the weekend and chill out.
Don't throw it all away for the sake of a few bad days
Arthur
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i think i need to have 2 day a week hobby / job to go with my WC'ing
Ive been offered work tonight, 18 months of work fitting kitchens in " council " houses, its something ive done B4 and it got boring after 2 years, as council house tennats dont really care either, it would wind me up to return to them in a few weeks and see them mistreated and falling apart due to neglect
sound like youve turned the corner your last post sounded more positive
im sure once you find something too replace the two days you spend with your
daughter now shes going to school with something constructive that you can take pride in things will look in a more positive light.
p.s. had a s***e day myself today so can sympathise
gary >:( ;D
thats the 2 cans of red bull :)
i forgot to add i have a cold aswell and feel like crap, no energy at all
i doublt i wil sleep tonight with the 2 cans of red bull ::) ::)
whilst psycho analyzing myself tonight ( dont ask ) it occured to me, my mood could also be that my daughter is starting school and im not coping well with that ?? ?? i dunno, what would sigmund make of it all ?? ??
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Matt, everyone has bad days mate, but do you really want to go back to someone else telling you what to do? You've got complete flexability and why throw away all the time and effort it's took to build up your business. Take a deep breath see out the rest of the week. Friday pack a bag and go away somewhere nice for the weekend and chill out.
Don't throw it all away for the sake of a few bad days
Arthur
last day today anyways, as i have my daugther from tomorrow, im sure come monday i will feel slightly better
i know it makes sence to stick at it, just getting too many crap days of late,
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can i have ur flashing camper van if you go ;D ;D ;D ;D
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can i have ur flashing camper van if you go ;D ;D ;D ;D
;D ;D
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right here goes :)
monday -- day off, had a nice day
tuesday -- go off to clean on a new estate near me ( my MP3 broke, not a problem, 10 quid online, but no music allways puts me in a bad mood ) , goes well in the morning, then i get some idiot complain because im 2 weeks late, i know im 2 weeks late, i didnt work much in july ( because of the rain ) i explain this, she says " im not interested in excuses " fair enough, i then say next time i will pop and do them in the rain, she says " i dont want them done in the rain ", i just carry on with the clean and get paid
DUMPED
next house, i picked up last time, it hasnt been done for 3 years, its a MOD house, i expained last time i come around 6 weeks ( depending on the weather ) she was happy with that, i knock on the door to get paid, i clean the tops TWICE on first cleans, they were filthy, she pays me, and then says " i dont want them done next time, i will have them done the week B4 Christmas " i explain i dont mind every other clean, but thats it, she says " knock on the door before you do them, if im in i will either say Yes or No :( this really pee'd me off as we had agree'd every 6 weeks
DUMPED
Today -- i clean a few houses, i get to a house that owes me 2 cleans , they say " oh i didnt realise you had done them " i explain they would have had a ticket each time AND then on thursday i ticket to say i had missed them for collection " ( i dont normally collect, except this local estate, i sometimes walk my dog around whilsst collecting ), they then say " well we dont really care if they are clean or not , its not important " ( i will return to this point in a bit )
i then do a few more houses, get to this house and clean the first window upstairs, clean the cill with what look like a pile of bird mess, i clean the next window and get a really bad smearing effect, i bring my brush down and it turns out to be something that the lads of the house had squirted out of the window, i thought it was hair gel ( not a issue its water based ) it turns out to be some kind of grease :( i try and clean the brush on the wall, try it on a dowstairs window, it drys with loads of greasy/ oily spots, i get the ladder off my car and try and clean them, no joy, they look crap ( i only put them on to fix a Downpipe for some1 ) i go home and clean the brush with fairy and hot water, seems ok, return to the house, stil drys all oily :( i would have called it a day now BUT i had asked 3 to unlock side gates, so i wanted to get them done, i return home, take off old brush and fit all the fittings to a new brush i had, off i go again, i left the house it happened on as i couldnt see how i would fix the problem, i hope 6 weeks of sun / weather will help and i had spent 2 and 1/2 hours messing around on that house, off i go to the next house, i do a few more and the wife of the house comes home , i explain to her what happened, my husband will be home in a bit speak to him, i speak to his and he says " its that little poo of a boy" and he laughs and says " been a bad day for you then " i explain, yes to the tune of 2 and 1/2 hours wasted and brush ( worth 20 quid ) wasted " the guy just laughed
DUMPED
i pack up my kit and decide to phone around a few of my contacts in the building game
now, sure 1 bad day ( today ) and 1 allmost bad day ( yesterday ) isnt the end of the world
<SNIP>
another thing, lack of challenge, now as people will know, ive been doing this for 4 and 1/2 years now ( so only a beginner ;)) the first challenge was to be able to use the sqeegee right, i picked up that, then i moved to WFP and that was a challenge, now i have nothing left to test me, i know i can use both methods to do a good job, so i have nothing left to challenge me in anyway
i have a nice round, very compact, enough work for 4 days a week with a 6 week turnaround, so why am i not happy ?? ??
You've supplied your own answer Matt.
The bit that stood out for me was the "another thing, lack of challenge," .
The hassles you describe are quite common in W/Cing. I get far less of them in recent years because I just dump the awkward ones. Life can have enough hassles without troublesome customers. For me, the best bit about being self-employed is having some control over my work environment. A customer that tries to take too much of that away becomes an ex-customer.
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right here goes :)
ive been thinking for a while now, do customers really care about the clean windows, as im getting more and more of a impression they dont really care, as long as they are clean-ish, they are happy, now i have allways done jobs the best i can, if it takes a extra few mins, then so be it, but im really struggling with the feeling that they just dont care
Matt are you going through a midlife crisis and need to feel wanted?? ;D
It doesn't really matter what the customers think or whether they care. The vindication that they do care is when that cash or cheque gets put in your hand.
If that doesn't happen or they grind you down than follow shiners great advice.
Try earning your money doing the same hours elsewhere.
It is amazing though how a bad week can lead to thoughts of packing in. It just goes to show how good this life really has been to you.
Another day another feeling.
Enjoy
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It is amazing though how a bad week can lead to thoughts of packing in. It just goes to show how good this life really has been to you.
Another day another feeling.
Enjoy
Im the first to admit, my life has been good, ive been lucky with choices and the dice have fallen my way :) but i want it to stay that way, not fall into a slump and end up resenting window cleanng
ive got a cold ............ or it could be " man flu " right now and fell like crap, i guess that dont help matter
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It never ceases to amaze me how inconsiderate some customers are. Some will sit there and let you climb over a gate before they would get off their arses to open it.
Some will keep you waiting at the door for 5 mins before finding the money to pay.
Others will refuse to open the door to you when you know they are in, cause the windows you just pushed shut are open again.
You leave tickets to say you have cleaned the windows, come back next day and they haven't got any money. "I didn't know you were coming", when you've been going there every month for 10 years.
We are expected not to mind mine fields of dog poo, piles of garden furniture and kids toys stacked behind the gate, Barbies being placed next to patio doors with grease spots all over them.
The majority of customers never give us a thought, until we knock for the money. They wouldn't even notice we had been unless we left a slip, and half the slips seem have gone unseen. I have cleaned for some customers for years, and they still leave the cheque blank where my name should be.
Some see us as monthly muggers, they open the door, see us, and their body language tells us to f--- off.
Matt, we all have them mate, they are just a means to an end. Their pennies pay for the really important things, our families.
When my son left home to do a two year Y.T.S fishing course he was just 16. I shed a tear at the time, I was choked for days, I was losing my best mate and fishing partner. It was time to let go, time for him to take the next step in life.
It's the same for your daughter mate, time to take the next step.
NOW GET OUT THERE NEXT WEEK, AND TAKE NO CRAP. Dai
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Excellent Ben, very good and too true !! ;D
Now, Matt, when I came across this forum I suddenly realised I wasn't alone when it came to PITA customers. After Bens excellent post can you not pull yourself up, expand your chest, breathe in deep, stretch your arms out wide and take it on the chin. THIS HAPPENS TO US ALL, but now we can deal with these twots together, dont let 'em get you down, dump 'em and move forward.
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Ben, you deserve a beer for that one ;) We aint alone are we? I think the waiting for the cheque book to be found AFTER we knock for collection has to be the mother of all groans in this job. Good posting fella.
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so its not just me then ;)
i was only saying last week how i had a round that i had got rid of my PITA customers, then a few come at once ( 2 new customers to be honest ) and it somwhat got to me
Oh and i still have this tropical flu :P
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i went to town today, mainly to pay in some cheque and tax the car
i bumped into a customer " why are you not cleaning today " now ive cleaned these for over 4 years, thry know i only work 3 days, they said Hello to my daughter and said how pretty she looked in her pink top and shorts
they said " your daddy cleans our windows, he does a great job, here is some money for some sweeties " my daughter said " thank you , lets go and buy some "
somewhat put me in a better mood ;)
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so are you staying or leaving lol ::)
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KEEP YOUR CHIN UP MATT ;D ;D
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Yo matt...Sorry to hear you've still got your tropical flu bud. That's bad. Have the doctors told ya how long you've got??? ;D
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Yo matt...Sorry to hear you've still got your tropical flu bud. That's bad. Have the doctors told ya how long you've got??? ;D
Na it's only a runny nose :P
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Yo matt...Sorry to hear you've still got your tropical flu bud. That's bad. Have the doctors told ya how long you've got??? ;D
to be honest i didnt want to go to the docs and spread this highly contagious tropical flu :o :o :o
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Takes a real man on his last legs to take such an immense, ethical stance. When his health is failing fast and the chips are down and the last breath is being drawn........to think of others is quite something Matt. I'll bring a wreath to the chapel fella. Hats off to ya ;)
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Takes a real man on his last legs to take such an immense, ethical stance. When his health is failing fast and the chips are down and the last breath is being drawn........to think of others is quite something Matt. I'll bring a wreath to the chapel fella. Hats off to ya ;)
can i get a amen
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;D ;D